Isolation of serpin-interacting proteins in C. elegans using protein affinity purification

Abstract

Caenorhabditiselegans is a useful model organism for combining multiple imaging, genetic, and biochemical methodologies to gain more insight into the biological function of specific proteins. Combining both biochemical and genetic analyses can lead to a better understanding of how a given protein may function within the context of a network of other proteins or specific pathway. Here, we describe a protocol for the biochemical isolation of serpin-interacting proteins using affinity purification and proteomic analysis. As the knowledge of in vivo serpin interacting partners in C. elegans has largely been obtained using genetic and in vitro recombinant protein studies, this protocol serves as a complementary approach to provide insight into the biological function and regulation of serpins.